Colors of the World
by Admiral T. DeVanto
Summary: Hyakkimaru may be blind, but that doesn't stop Dororo from trying to introduce him to all of the colors in the world.


The sound of a running creek had never filled Dororo with more delight then it did now. With an eager smile, she tugged on Hyakkimaru's arm. "Come on bro. I need to rest my aching feet from all of this wandering." She idly wondered if he was even going to stop for such a meaningless reprieve. But unsurprisingly, he followed her off the path and through the brush to the creek. Dororo wasted no time in gleefully sitting down at the edge of the creek and sticking her feet into the cold water. With a content sigh, she slouched down. Hyakkimaru settled for kneeling right next to her. He traced the ground with his prosthetic hand, his bare feet inching closer to the edge of the creek.

Dororo liked to think that she was aware of Hyakkimaru's limits. At first glance, she could easily forget that he had limits, especially when she watched him battle and defeat demons. However, she also knew that he was limited in obvious areas. As he regained parts of his stolen body parts from the demons, new limits would arise where others had vanished. Hyakkimaru had displayed his limits when he first regained his sense of hearing. However, he had also displayed his curiosity when he first regained his sense of smell.

She grinned as she wondered how he would adapt to the sense of sight. It would be like stepping into a new world for him. She glanced at him and wondered if she would have to describe the different shapes and colors. How would he react when he saw people and animals for the first time? Would he still be as fearless as before when he saw a demons true terrifying form for the first time, or would he even know what terrifying looked like?

"Bro," she started. "Remember the colors? When it is autumn and all the leaves turn red?"

He cocked his head curiously. "Red?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Red is the color that the leaves turn when it is autumn." She trailed off when she realized that he would have no idea what 'red' even looked like. With dismay, she realized that he could not even imagine what the trees looked like when painted red.

She struggled to put the color to different words he would understand. "Um, red is warm. Sometimes, red burns. When you sit close to the fire, you feel hot. That's what red can feel like." She struggled to find a better description. "Whenever you feel angry, red is the color you mostly feel."

She watched as understanding dawned on him. Looking away, he frowned. Dororo also frowned as she wondered if the most frequent times when he had felt angry was when Mio and the children had perished.

She desperately searched for a different topic of conversation. "What about blue?" she blurted out. "Blue is a nice color!" At his curious stare, she floundered on. "Blue is nicer than red! Blue is a cold color. It leaves you cooled and relaxed." She watched as his expression became thoughtful. His eyes became unfocused as he contemplated what he had been told.

Dororo scratched her head as she struggled to come up with a better explanation. How could she describe color to him? When Biwa Hōshi had first mentioned the color of demons, it had seemed as if he had seen color before. But what of Hyakkimaru, who had been blind all his life? Telling him that something was blue, and green was not as simple as she had first thought.

Kicking her feet in the creek, Dororo watched as the ripples of the water quickly dispersed in the rushed torrent.

Inspiration struck her. "Do you hear the sound of the creek?" At his slow nod, she continued to speak. "That's what blue sounds like."

With a grin, an idea struck her. "Hey, bro, come here," she said, energetically waving her hands in the air. She reached to grab at his prosthetic hand and guided him to sit down and dip his feet into the creek. "See? It's cold. That's what blue feels like." She straightened up. "And when you drink cold water, that's what blue tastes like. Except when it's warm, then that's what brown is."

He cocked his head. "Brown?"

"Brown's a boring color." With a patch of wet dirt she dug up, she touched his exposed leg. "Right? That dirt is brown. Brown feels like dirt, or the crinkled dead leaves of the fallen trees." Leaning back, she looked at the hidden sky above the overgrown trees. "You can also smell brown. It's an earthy smell."

"Brown is dirty?"

She contemplated his question for a moment. "Eh, not always. Sometimes brown is warm and comforting." She thought of her father's eyes and how warm and tender they were whenever he looked at her or her mother. A wistful smile passed her lips. "Brown can also be comforting and soft, like when you are wrapped in a nice blanket." However rare those times were, both Dororo and Hyakkimaru understood how precious and fleeting a soft bed and blanket felt.

Hyakkimaru hummed for a moment as he no doubt dwelled on this new information. Dororo was content with looking up at what she could see from the sky. With a frown, she realized that the blue sky was slowly turning grey.

Reluctantly, she got up. "Come on. It looks like it's going to rain."

Her prediction was proven correct, and sooner than she had expected. What started out as a light drizzle soon became a heavy downpour. Within moments, both Hyakkimaru and Dororo were soaked to the bone. Any comfort and reprieve they had gained at the creek were soon washed away with the raindrops that splattered on their shivering frames.

Mercifully, they soon found shelter in the form of a cave. Dororo had quickly guided Hyakkimaru to the cave. Though the cave kept the rain out, nothing could keep out the cold biting at their skin.

Together, they huddled in the cave and listened to the sound of the heavy rain pouring down. Dororo shivered and hugged her knees close to her chest. With a sniffle, she moved closer to Hyakkimaru as she sought out warmth. In response, he pulled her close to his side.

The sound of the heavy rain almost lulled Dororo into an uncomfortable state of drowsiness. This was, by no regards, the most uncomfortable position she had ever slept in, but she had definitely bunked down in better areas. As she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Hyakkimaru, she realized that she was grateful for the fact that she was no longer alone.

"Dororo, what color is the rain?"

Her eyes blearily opened to face the harsh landscape of the cold world in front of her. With a shake of her head, she yawned. "Huh?"

"Does the rain have a color?"

She hesitated, her tired brain working out his question. "Grey...is an unfeeling cold." She was quiet for a moment as she forced her foggy mind to work. "It's...colorless…?" She trailed off, uncertain what else she could say about the boring color.

"Is it cold like blue?"

She shook her head. "No. It's not like blue. Blue is cold, but it is also calming." As she stared at the unchanging landscape, she felt as if they were the only two people left in this world. Not a creature moved in the torrent, and not a sound could be heard over the sound of the pelting rain and the occasional clap of thunder.

Finding the words she was looking for to describe such a complex color, she said, "Grey is bleak and lifeless."

Hyakkimaru was silent for a moment, and she wondered if he was trying to conjure up his own version of the color 'grey'. With a wordless sigh, he pulled her closer as they listened to the rain.

* * *

It was a few days before Dororo had attempted to try and describe color to Hyakkimaru. It was not as easy as she had initially thought, but she learned to use his other senses to teach him what a color was. She would use his sense of touch and smell to give him an idea on what a color was supposed to feel like, and she would attach a color to emotion.

Soon, she would describe the most obvious color in the world to him.

"Bro!" she proclaimed. "It is now time that I teach you of the world's most abundant color: green!"

Hyakkimaru nodded. "Okay."

Dororo readily sat down on the sprawling field. Patting at the spot next to her, she said, "sit" to which Hyakkimaru quickly obeyed. Sitting cross-legged, he focused his intent gaze on her.

"Green is alive," she started. She fingered a blade of grass with a thoughtful expression on her face. How else could she describe this common color?

An idea struck her, and she brightened up. With eager movements, she grabbed at fistfuls of grass. "Here," she said, sprinkling the blades of grass on his face. The green stuck out in his dark hair, and he blinked curiously at her actions. He remained where he was sitting as the grass tickled his cheeks and nose. With a grimace, he sneezed once. "Dororo?" he quizzingly asked.

"That's green," she said as she placed her hands on her hips and surveyed her work. At this point, blades of grass were sticking out in his hair. Most of the grass had fallen to his shoulders or on his lap. With a huff, Dororo realized her demonstration was not going to work.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him to lie down in the field. "Feel the soft grass?" she asked as she lay down next to him. He turned his head at the sound of her voice, and he nodded to her question. She beamed. "That's green. Green is life. Most plants are green when they are alive." With a stray leaf, she tickled his cheek. "This is a green leaf. It's smooth, which means it's green."

He remained still for a moment. Turning his head to gaze up at the sky, he moved his legs as if to feel the grass. Dororo closed her eyes and allowed the sun to warm her.

"Dororo," Hyakkimaru started. "What color is the sun?"

Her eyes shot open and she grinned, rapidly sitting up. "The sun is yellow!" she happily exclaimed. In response to her fast movements, Hyakkimaru sat up. "Yellow means you are safe. It's warm and soft. It makes you happy inside!"

With the expression of one finding the clue to a missing piece, Hyakkimaru pointed at her. "Yellow."

She blinked and her smile disappeared. With a huff, she placed her hands on her hips. "Hey! I'm not yellow!"

"But you make me happy. You are happy."

"But I'm not the color yellow!" She huffed, folding her arms. "Yellow is how you would _feel_, not how I _look_."

Hyakkimaru paused for a minute, and an intense look of concentration came across his face. "You make me _feel _happy," he corrected.

Dororo hoped that it didn't mean he still thought she was yellow. With a grin, she realized that when Hyakkimaru did get his eyes back, she would most likely need to teach him his colors all over again. She didn't mind.

It did not matter if he could not see. Dororo would be his eyes in this cold, dismal world. Even if it meant she was now permanently labeled as _yellow_.


End file.
